1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an instrument panel of a synthetic resin for a car.
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. 11-81350.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, a passenger seat air bag unit to be installed in an instrument panel in front of a passenger seat was constituted by a folded air bag, an inflator for supplying an inflating gas to the air bag, and a casing in which the air bag and the inflator were received. Further, a door portion was disposed in the instrument panel so as to be ruptured and opened when the air bag was inflated (see Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 9-156400, and so on).
The casing, however, required strength because the casing had a function of receiving both the air bag and the inflator and a function of guiding the inflating gas of the inflator to the air bag and guiding the deployment of the air bag when the air bag was inflated. In the background art, the casing was made from a sheet metal. Hence, the passenger seat air bag unit was heavy in weight.
Further, in the background art, each junction box (hereinafter merely abbreviated as xe2x80x9cboxxe2x80x9d) in which wire harness extending from a meter, or the like, disposed in the instrument panel was connected was inserted vertically into between a portion of a body on a lateral lower side of the instrument panel and the instrument panel and screwed down horizontally to the body so as to be attached and fixed to the instrument panel.
The work of attaching the box was, however, difficult because the instrument panel disturbed it. Further, the direction of screwing down the box was horizontal. Attachment holes provided in both the box and the body for screwing down the box to the body were positioned vertically in the direction of insertion of the box. Hence, the positioning was difficult because the attachment holes of the body were hidden behind the box. The work of attaching the box was made more difficult.
Still further, in the background art, each register to be disposed in the instrument panel was screwed down from the back side of the instrument panel. Hence, there was still room for improvement in efficiency in the attaching work.
Still further, instrument panels of the type constituted by an upper panel disposed on the front side and a core panel disposed on the rear side of the upper panel were known in the background art (see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho. 56-4928, Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 1-190551, Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 5-77659, and so on).
Further, in those instrument panels, circumferential walls of air-conditioner ducts were formed from the upper panel and the core panel.
In the background art, however, a sealing material provided separately was assembled with regions of formation of the ducts so that the regions were kept airtight when the upper panel and the core panel were connected to each other. Hence, the number of constituent parts of the instrument panel was increased and the work of assembling the upper panel with the core panel took a great deal of labor.
A first object of the present invention is to provide an instrument panel in which a passenger seat air bag unit is lightened in weight to thereby solve the aforementioned problem.
A second object of the present invention is to provide an instrument panel in which the work of attaching a box is simplified to thereby solve the aforementioned problem.
A third object of the present invention is to provide an instrument panel in which the work of attaching registers is simplified to thereby solve the aforementioned problem.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide an instrument panel in which regions of air-conditioner ducts can be kept airtight easily while the number of constituent parts is suppressed from increasing to thereby solve the aforementioned problem.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an instrument panel comprising an upper panel of a synthetic resin disposed on the front side, and a core panel of a synthetic resin connected to the rear side of the upper panel and having a shape retentive property; the core panel including a casing portion having an opening portion opened in an air bag-protruding direction, the casing portion receiving a folded air bag of an air bag unit for a passenger seat and an inflator for supplying an inflating gas to the air bag; the upper panel including door portions which cover the casing portion so that the door portions are pressed and opened by the air bag when the air bag is inflated.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an instrument panel comprising an upper panel of a synthetic resin disposed on the front side, and a core panel of a synthetic resin disposed on the rear side of the upper panel and having a shape retentive property; the upper panel and the core panel being provided with connection portions which can be connected to each other; the core panel including fixation cavity portions each having an opening portion opened upward for attachment, the fixation cavity portions being provided so that junction boxes are inserted in the fixation cavity portions and attached and fixed to the fixation cavity portions respectively.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an instrument panel comprising an upper panel of a synthetic resin disposed on the front side, and a core panel of a synthetic resin disposed on the rear side of the upper panel and having a shape retentive property; the upper panel and the core panel being provided with connection portions which can be connected to each other; the upper panel including a cover portion which constitutes an upper wall in circumferential walls of air-conditioner ducts communicating with registers; the core panel including a circumferential wall portion which constitutes walls other than the upper wall in the circumferential walls of the ducts; the core panel further including receiving cavity portions in regions of arrangement of the registers, the receiving cavity portions having opening portions opened upward for receiving the registers respectively so that the registers are inserted and received in the receiving cavity portions respectively; the upper panel further including holding portions in regions of arrangement of the registers, the holding portions being capable of sandwiching and holding the registers between the upper panel and the core panel when the upper panel and the core panel are connected to each other.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an instrument panel comprising an upper panel of a synthetic resin disposed on the front side, and a core panel of a synthetic resin disposed on the rear side of the upper panel and having a shape retentive property; the upper panel and the core panel being provided with connection portions which can be connected to each other; the upper panel including a cover portion which constitutes an upper wall in circumferential walls of air-conditioner ducts; the core panel including a circumferential wall portion which constitutes walls other than the upper wall in the circumferential walls of the ducts; flexible thin lip portions are formed at upper ends of the circumferential wall portion or lower ends of the cover portion integrally with the core panel or the upper panel so that the lip portions come into pressure contact with the cover portion of the upper panel or the circumferential wall portion of the core panel to keep airtightness when the upper panel and the core panel are connected to each other.
In the instrument panel according to the first aspect of the present invention, the core panel has a casing portion which has an opening portion opened in an air bag-protruding direction and which receives a folded air bag of a passenger seat air bag unit and an inflator for supplying an inflating gas to the air bag. A casing for the passenger seat air bag unit is formed in the synthetic resin instrument panel itself. Hence, the background-art heavy sheet-metal casing can be eliminated, so that the passenger seat air bag unit can be lightened in weight.
Further, in the background art, after the air bag and the inflator were installed in a casing, the casing had to be attached and fixed to a car while being positioned with respect to the instrument panel attached to the car in advance. In the background art, it was necessary that the air bag unit was attached to the car while the casing was positioned with respect to both the instrument panel and the frame side of the car. Hence, the work of attaching the assistant driver s air bag unit to the car took a great deal of labor. In the present invention, however, if the air bag, etc. are installed in the instrument panel in advance, the passenger seat air bag unit can be attached to the car by a simple means of attaching the instrument panel itself to the car after that. Hence, the work of attaching the passenger seat air bag unit to the car can be simplified.
Hence, in the instrument panel according to the first aspect of the present invention, reduction in weight of the passenger seat air bag unit can be attained and the work of attaching the passenger seat air bag unit to the car can be simplified.
In the instrument panel according to the second aspect of the present invention, the core panel has fixation cavity portions which have opening portions opened upward for attachment and to which boxes are inserted, attached and fixed respectively.
That is, boxes are not attached to the body as in the background art but attached to the core panel itself. With respect to the direction of attachment, the boxes are inserted in the fixation cavity portions through the opening portions opened upward respectively. Then, the upper panel is connected to an upper portion of the core panel by use of the connection portions. In this configuration, the work of attaching the boxes can be performed under sufficient eye observation. Hence, the boxes can be attached and fixed easily.
Hence, in the instrument panel according to the second aspect of the present invention, the work of attaching the boxes can be simplified.
In the instrument panel according to the third aspect of the present invention, the core panel has receiving cavity portions which are provided in regions of arrangement of registers, which have opening portions opened upward for receiving the registers and in which the registers are inserted and received whereas the upper panel has holding portions which are provided in regions of arrangement of the registers and which can hold the registers so as to cooperate with the core panel when the upper panel and the core panel are connected to each other.
That is, the registers are attached to the instrument panel as follows. The registers are inserted in the receiving cavity portions through the opening portions respectively in the core panel. When the upper panel is then connected to the core panel by use of the connection portions, the registers are held in the receiving cavity portions by the holding portions of the upper panel respectively.
Therefore, in the instrument panel according to the third aspect of the present invention, the registers are merely received in the receiving cavity portions of the core panel without use of any screw means. After that, the registers can be attached to the instrument panel easily by a simple means of assembling the instrument panel itself. Hence, the work of attaching the registers is simplified.
It is a matter of course that air for air-conditioning can be fed to the registers smoothly because the air-conditioner ducts each constituted by the cover portion of the upper panel and the circumferential wall portion of the core panel communicate with the registers after the upper panel and the core panel are connected to each other.
Hence, in the instrument panel according to the third aspect of the present invention, the registers can be attached to the instrument panel easily by a simple means of disposing the registers in predetermined positions respectively in the middle of assembling of the instrument panel in which the upper panel and the core panel are connected to each other.
In the instrument panel according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the upper panel has a cover portion which constitutes an upper wall in circumferential walls of the air-conditioner ducts whereas the core panel has a circumferential wall portion which constitutes walls other than the upper wall in the circumferential walls of the ducts. Further, flexible thin lip portions are formed at upper ends of the circumferential wall portion or lower ends of the cover portion integrally with the core panel or the upper panel in order to keep airtightness obtained by pressure contact of the lip portions with the cover portion of the upper panel or the circumferential wall portion of the core panel when the upper panel and the core panel are connected to each other.
Therefore, when the upper panel and the core panel are connected to each other, the lip portions formed in the circumferential wall portion of the core panel or the cover portion of the upper panel come into pressure contact with the cover portion of the upper panel or the circumferential wall portion of the core panel so that the air-conditioner ducts can be kept airtight. Further, the lip portions are formed integrally with the circumferential wall portion of the core panel or the cover portion of the upper panel. Special members provided separately need not to be attached as the lip portions.
Hence, in the instrument panel according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, regions of formation of the air-conditioner ducts can be kept airtight easily while increase in the number of constituent parts is suppressed.
Features and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments described in conjunction with the attached drawings.